THE newest rare arrival at a North Yorkshire theme park and zoo is head and shoulders above the rest.

The not-so-tiny bundle of joy, who has not yet been given a name, was born at Flamingo Land over the weekend. Zoo staff stayed up until the early hours of the morning for the long-awaited birth of the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe at the zoo near Malton. The birth is cause for celebration for all European zoos as the breed is part of an endangered species programme in which zoos work together to breed and protect them.

Last weekend’s birth of the male giraffe was the result of eight years of planning and hard work which has included nine different giraffe transfers, including moving animals from zoos in Holland and Germany.

A spokesman for Flamingo Land said: “Following a 15-month pregnancy, the little one was in no hurry to enter the world and both mum and the zoo keepers had to wait throughout an anxious six-hour labour.

“The baby stood up within an hour, and took its first steps, watched by proud parents, Joyce and George, as well as two other herd members, Mylene and Lizzie.”